Constantine I of Greece - World War I and The National Schism

World War I and The National Schism

For more details on this topic, see National Schism.

The widely-held view of Constantine I as a "German sympathiser" owes much to Allied and Venizelist war-time propaganda directed against the King. Constantine rebuffed Kaiser Wilhelm who in 1914 pressed him to bring Greece into the war on the side of Austria and Germany. Constantine offended British and French interests by blocking efforts by Prime Minister Venizelos to bring Greece into the war on the side of the Allies. Constantine's insistence on neutrality was based on his judgement that it was the best policy for Greece.

Admiral Mark Kerr, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Hellenic Navy in the early part of World War I and later Commander-in-Chief of the British Adriatic Squadron, wrote in 1920:

"The persecution of King Constantine by the press of the Allied countries, with some few good exceptions, has been one of the most tragic affairs since the Dreyfus case."

Although Venizelos, with British and French support, forced Constantine from the Greek throne in 1917 he remained popular with parts of the Greek people, as shown by the overwhelming vote for his return in the December 1920 plebescite.

In the aftermath of the victorious Balkan Wars, Greece was in a state of euphoria. Her territory and population had doubled and, under the dual leadership of Constantine and Venizelos, her future seemed bright. This state of affairs was not bound to last long, however. When World War I broke out, Constantine was faced with the difficulty of determining where Greece's support lay. His own sympathies lay with Imperial Germany ruled by his wife's brother, the Kaiser. Sophie, his queen, was popularly thought to support her brother as well, but it seems that she was actually pro-British; like her father the late Kaiser Frederick, Sophie was heavily influenced by her mother, the British-born Victoria. Venizelos was fervently pro-Entente, having established excellent rapport with the British and French echelons of power. He also was keenly aware that a maritime country like Greece could not, and should not, antagonise the Entente, the dominant naval powers in the Mediterranean. This latter point at least came across to the king, no matter where his personal sympathies lay. He finally chose a policy of neutrality. The bold, insubordinate general of a few years before now seemed content to risk nothing and would possibly settle for as much after the war was over. Unable to impose unconstitutionally his will upon the lawfully elected government, he chose to neutralise it for the time being.

Constantine's sympathies for Germany were made manifest during the Allies' disastrous landing on Gallipoli. Despite support for Venizelos amongst the people and his clear majority in Parliament, Constantine opposed Venizelos's increasing support for the Allies. When Bulgaria attacked Serbia, with whom Greece had a treaty of alliance, Venizelos again urged the King to allow Greece's entry into the war, and permitted Entente forces to disembark in Thessaloniki in preparation for a common campaign over the king's objections. After Constantine refused again to support Greece's entry on the side of the Allies, however, Venizelos resigned, and Constantine appointed Alexandros Zaimis in his place, at the head of a short-lived coalition government.

In July 1916, arsonists set fire to the forest surrounding the summer palace at Tatoi, in what was popularly seen as a sign of dissatisfaction with the king's policy of neutrality. Although injured in the escape, the king and his family managed to flee to safety. The flames spread quickly in the dry summer heat, and sixteen people were killed. In May and August 1916, Constantine and General Ioannis Metaxas (future dictator) allowed parts of eastern Macedonia to be occupied, without opposition, by the Central Powers.

The country seethed with rage and in August 1916, an Entente-supported Venizelist revolt broke out in Thessaloniki. There, Venizelos established a provisional revolutionary government, which declared war on the Central Powers. With civil war apparently imminent, Constantine sought firm German promises of naval, military and economic assistance - without success. Gradually, and with Allied support, Venizelos gained control of half the country - significantly, most of the "New Lands" won during the Balkan Wars. This cemented the "National Schism", a division of Greek society between Venizelists and anti-Venizelist monarchists, which was to have repercussions in Greek politics until past World War II.

Early in 1917, the Venizelist Government of National Defence (based in Thessaloniki) took control of Thessaly. In the face of Venizelist and Anglo-French pressure, King Constantine left the country for Switzerland on 11 June 1917; his second-born son Alexander became king in his place. The Allied Powers were opposed to Constantine's firstborn son George becoming King, as he had served in the German army before the war and identified with his father's pro-German policies.